Went to Estell late this afternoon to see whats what. Had a folding rake in the truck so i took care of that cheese wedge, and tried to pack things back down the best i could. There was actually a 2nd right where the trail comes off Artesian Well Rd that i flattened out too. The one pictured earlier in the thread was actually more well built than i would expect from a group of kids. Figured it would just be a pile of dirt, but it was mostly thick branches with some dirt packed over them.
Took a hike further out into the trails to see how rideable they were today. As mentioned yesterday, pretty dry and firm, with some mud in the usual spot. No puddles other than on the access roads. Since things looked ok i did a quick loop, and found some more surprises.
Basically more of the same odds and ends that have been popping up throughout the network since at least November. Hate to say it, but these appear to be from a rider, but not sure if it is the same responsible for the wedges.
This is one of the 2 small "bridges" in the lower lying troughs on the trail that runs from the road to the parking lot out to the lot near the boat launch. Walked out this way first, and had noticed that it seems to be flexing more than it used to. That is to be expected with age though. If you look at the ends though, it looks as though someone has pulled this up at some point. Hasn't been moved though, so no biggie. Just happened to catch my attention that it wasn't buried at the ends anymore, and not sure why.
Whoever was not a fan of the sharper turns has been back out creating/forcing shortcuts as well. This was the most extreme one i saw. Removed the barricade and closed off the shortcut. Used branches and leaves at 3 others to attempt to designate the original trail again.
This was a log that had fallen over the trail and had been cleared several months back, that has now been set up as a log ride. Could actually be pretty cool, but was pretty unstable as it was sitting. Moved off to the side for now, but would be nice to set it up properly somewhere down the line so that it doesn't roll with someone on it.
This last one just seems like a lame move. This is one of the dips across a ditch at the end of the IMBA trail near the intersection with the North End trail. This log had been cut from the upper trail that runs parallel to the ditch on the right. Was laying in the ditch, and someone purposely dropped it on to the trail right at the point coming out of/ going back into the ditch. Moved it back out of the way.
All of this has been just over the last 1-2 months, as i don't remember any of it from my last visit. There is some good news though. There was a pointless shortcut just down from that last log that looks like it has been ignored, and is starting to grow back in. Also, the sandy dip worked on at the last TM in December is not nearly as much of a squirmy mess as it was before then
. Still not great, as was expected, but can be taken with a little bit more speed without worry about continuing to slide down into the marshy bit below
.